The present invention relates to construction and agricultural implements attached to prime movers and, more specifically, to a mounting mechanism that allows for easy attachment and detachment of a hydraulic power loader to a prime mover.
It is common for prime movers (tractors) to carry loaders to which a variety of attachments can be connected for a wide range of material handling applications in the industrial, agricultural and construction fields. Such loaders, usually mounted on the front end of a tractor, generally include a frame assembly, boom arms pivotally mounted on the frame, an attachment mounted across the forward ends of the boom arms, hydraulic tilt cylinders coupled between the attachment and the boom arms, and hydraulic lift cylinders coupled between the boom arms and the frame assembly.
Regardless of the application, in many instances it is desirable for front loaders to be removable because, even though other implements can be used while the loader is attached to the front end, handling and maneuverability of the tractor are usually enhanced with the loader removed. Thus, it is imperative for a tractor to readily convert between a material-handling vehicle with a front loader to a vehicle with an implement operative via another mounting device, such as a three point hitch connected mower.
Loaders are typically connected to the tractor using removable pins that connect a tower structure of the loader mechanism to a mounting structure on the tractor. After a period of time and use, removal of the connecting pins becomes difficult due to corrosion and contamination thereby increasing the difficulty of removing or attaching the loader to the tractor.
It would be a great advantage to provide a locking device to replace the connecting pins in a loader mount that would not be susceptible to the effects of contamination and corrosion and therefore would permit easier removal and installation of a loader on a tractor to overcome the above problems and disadvantages.